[Magdalen] Memorial Day Parade.

[ME Michaud]

We were talking about Memorial Day yesterday.
One of my memories from early childhood was of the parade marching past our
house.
World War I veterans were still marching then and I remember my grandmother
pointing out two  very ancient Civil War veterans being driven in an open
car. My hometown was so committed to the Cause that, we were told, every
man eligible to serve (and some not so eligible) signed up. These two men
had gone in their early teens, walking from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania
and points south with older recruits.

I remember my grandmother shouting Remember the Maine as the few living
Spanish American war veterans went by. I was shocked. I'd never heard her
raise her voice before.

I also remember standing in a hollow next to a large pond at the cemetery,
trying to hold on to a large bundle of lilacs, while the rector delivered a
homily and a blessing.

I have a photograph of my older self marching in my Girl Scout uniform.
-M